To Work It

When I returned from Italy back in October I felt like I had eaten the 

entire country's worth of pasta and wine.  Then came 

Thanksgiving (x2 families), Christmas (x2 again), and various celebrations.  

Lets just say when January hit my body was NOT at it's finest or healthiest.  

It was time to get kick it back into shape.  Below are the items and things 

that inspired me and now have me a little more toned and feeling great!

1. Workouts

I made it a goal to work out at least three times a week.  Right now 

I'm averaging four! It feels amazing to set a goal that I can reach... and exceed!  

I try to run twice a week and attend both a boot camp class on Tuesdays and a 

CORE workout on Thursday.  I'm loving my weekly routine, but some nights 

I need to be home sooner and can't attend my classes. When that happens I 

turn to Fitness Blender online workouts.  They kick my butt and you will 

definitely feel it the next day!  Click here for their free online workouts.

The other tool I swear by is My Fitness Pal. This free app helps me 

track both my workouts and my diet.  Rather than just tracking calories 

it tells me what nutrients I need more or less of in my diet to make it 

balanced overall.  I'm a little addicted to say the least.

2. Shoes

I just switched shoes and now instead of running 2 miles I'm already up to 4!  

Changing up your shoes and wearing things that inspire you is so important!  

My new shoes are hot pink (these).  I love them.  I am also a huge fan of 

Zella workout pants and Lululemon zip shirt for those cool morning runs.

3. Diet

As mentioned in posts before (here, here, here) I'm doing a lot more 

meal planning while my husband goes through fire academy.  He loses up to 

10,000 calories a day so I've tried to find creative foods that sustain him 

and don't kill my get-in-shape vibe.  Some of our favorite recipes are here, here, 

here, here, and here.  I am also LOVING drinking
a lukewarm glass of lemon water each morning.  It helps me stay feeling
full, bloat less, and gives me a little push of vitamin C.

Do you have any tricks for staying healthy during a busy time?  

I'd love to hear!

xo

{Hello Fashion, Pinterest, Unknown}

Jamie G. Week: On Fitness

Fuss Free 16 min. HIIT workout!

HIIT is the new buzzword (or more accurately, buzz acronym) when it comes to fitness. 

You know that if you’ve seen it in a beauty/fitness magazine then it’s got to be good, 

right (please say no to 2lb. weights, non fat yogurt!)? 

Well for once, they got something right. 

Pushing you to the limits in just a short amount of time, 

High Intensity Interval Training is an efficient and effective way to get in high quality cardio 

and strength training in while not spending hours at the gym. 

In fact, you can easily get in HIIT workouts in the comfort of your own home. 

One of my favorite go to workouts is to use my Tabata Timer app 

(20 seconds of work, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds each for a total of 4 minutes each round) 

and focus each 4 minutes on a different part of the body. 

Here I lay out a 16 minute full body, no equipment, do anywhere HIIT workout! 

Set 1: Upper Body (20sec. on/10 off x 8)

*Tricep Dips (use bench, chair, coffee table, whatever’s easiest)

   

*Downward Dog Pushups (get into the downward dog position and do push ups, 

bending elbows and getting your head as close to the ground as you can)

   

Alternate each move for 8 rounds.

Set 2: Lower body

* Body weight squats (making sure your hips come down slightly below your knees)

   

* Alternating step back lunges (step back and lunge each leg, make sure 

your front knee doesn’t go over your foot and your back knee 

GENTLY taps the floor/hovers about an inch over the ground)

    

Alternate each move for 8 rounds.

Set 3: Core

*Mountain climbers (keep foot off the ground as you bend your 

leg bringing your knee towards the chest)

      

*Plank foot taps (on your forearms in the plank position, bring one 

 foot out to the side and tap the floor with your toes, bring it back in, and switch legs)

   

Alternate each move for 8 rounds.

Set 4: Full Body/Cardi

*Burpees (with the push up!)

   

*Jump squats (in the squat position, jump off the ground, repeat!)

   

Alternate each move for 8 rounds.

Push yourself as hard as your can during the 20 seconds of work! 

The harder you push, the longer you leave yourself burning calories for the next 24-48 hours! 

Oh, so you think you are all that and a bag of Marshawn Lynch’s Skittles (#gohawks), 

do all four sets twice, for a longer, even more intense workout!

If you need to clarify any exercises, just use the wonders
of YouTube! And download the FREE Tabata Timer on your smartphone or iPad!